Chainsaw advice on oil please

hi there, ive just bought a pole chainsaw to cut our confiers and it didnt come with any chainsaw oil, can anyone tell me if i could use anything similar to chainsaw oil becuase i dont need to buy a litre of the stuff, it is an electric chainsaw. thank you and happy new year to you all.

Hi. Good luck with your pole saw. Very useful piece of kit. Regarding the oil I would suggest you get at least a litre as if you haven't used one before you are going to be surprised at how much oil you will get through. Most times you refill the fuel you will need to top up the chain oil. Steve

That confused me at first, needing oil for an electric chainsaw. But as Steveharford said - a litre will go very quickly. Check the oil level frequently as without it the chain will blunt in minutes.

I don't sharpen my blade, bought a couple of spare chains off a firm on ebay who also sharpen blades for you.

Safety kit - get it! It is seriously easy to kill yourself with a chain saw. Hit the femoral artery (think that's the correct name, top of the leg) and you can bleed out in minutes. It will cost you more than the saw but imagine sitting down short of an arm or even just a nose. Once again, I got mine from ebay but do check for certificate.

Sorry to go on like granny - but local chap showed be his scar from an accident - wake up call.

Echoing John's comments about chainsaw safety equipment - I've seen safety trousers which took the brunt of a slipped chainsaw. They did their job and the user wasn't injured. They'd have lost the leg in all likelihood, or worse, if unprotected.

Logged

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

Trillium

Chainsaw bar oil is not replaceable with anything else. As said, without it, the chain can't move once it dries up. On our electric saw, we make a point of filling the reservoir after every one hour of use. Better to do it often, even if a little, then to find it's dried out and screwed up the whole saw. As long as you own the saw, you'll need the bar oil.

hi there, ive just bought a pole chainsaw to cut our confiers and it didnt come with any chainsaw oil, can anyone tell me if i could use anything similar to chainsaw oil becuase i dont need to buy a litre of the stuff, it is an electric chainsaw. thank you and happy new year to you all.

A litre of chain oil shouldn't last that long as it should be using some whenever the saw is in use, if not then the oil feed may be blocked. Certainly worth checking and topping up regularly. As well as lubricating the chain and bar, the oil will also help prevent corrosion. Invaluable if, like me, you don't always clean equipment as much as you know you should when you put it away after a long day - amazing how standards drift when every muscle aches!

hi ive just bought a gallon of anti fling gear oil it lasts about a month one tank of oil to 2 fills of petrol yours will propably need toping up every half hour dont forget to sharpen the chain regularly definatly get chain saw trousers or chats my chainsaw tutor at college drummed it in to us to always wear chainsaw protection he forgot to practice what he preached he touched a icy log with the chain it went straight through his leg severing the femoral artery 1/2 day out with an undertaker ,we used a log in a pair of chain saw trousers for safety demos the action of the trousers was quite shocking stopped the chain in 3 milli second ,sorry if this offends any one. jezza

I worked with a chainsaw for about 15 years (my back and knee's can testify to it) and I think that you should learn how to sharpen the chain properly.A blunt chain is much more dangerous then a sharp one,particularly with a pole saw.If its blunt you force it more and as it is a distance away you cannot see when you are through the timber resulting in the blade suddenly going through the wood and you looseing your'e balance as you haven't anything to take the weight anymore.I've done it and apart from looking and feeling like an idiot got away without injury.I'd buy the anti fling chain oil.I've seen people use engine oil and you could spot them more often then not as they were quite often covered in the stuff.You can also buy veggie oil for chains thats made from spent chip fat.It doesn't keep for long(1-2 months) before becoming lumpy and useless.The smell of chips also made me really hungry and I stank like id done a 12 hour shift at a chippy

I bought a brand new Husqvarna chainsaw earlier this year, and I've studied a lot about them - I did use and maintain/repair them a lot many years ago when i worked at the agricultural dealers in Wales, and used them frequently in the forestry, but things change, so I had to re-chip myself.

Points to note regarding electric chainsaw:

Definately need good quality and specifically chain oil - nothing else will do. In a petrol chainsaw you fill up the chain oil first before the fuel - that shows you how much it uses.

Safety helmet, ear-muffs, face-shield, steel-toecap boots, and definately chainsaw leggings/trousers. You may look like a complete prat, but you'll look a bigger prat getting carried away in an ambulance.

Its hard to describe on here, but find out from a professional where the kick-back zone is on the tip of the blade. If this segment of the chain touches anything while you're sawing, it will kick-back, and that is one experience that you don't want!

Ironically enough, having said all that, don't be scared of it. You're in control - not the machine.

Hi all, new member mikky here.I know this thread is a tad old now, but would just like to reiterate what the more professional users of chain saws have said on here with regards to SAFE USE of them.Their advice should never be underestimated, chain saws are frighteningly quick, a matter of milliseconds between life and death is all it takes.I have two now and treat them with the utmost respect when I use them.I like this site, some interesting topics and friendly too!